Refrigeration apparatus



May 24, 1955 G. F. SMITH REFRIGERAIION APPARATUS Filed June l1, 1951 2.,Sheets-Sheet .1

WITNESSES: 22e

INVENTOR Guy F. Smi'h @2M ATTORNEY May 24, 1955 G. F. SMITH REFRIGERATION APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1951 INVENTQR Gu y F. smn'h BY ATTORNEY WITNESSES: @MQ/Q UnitedStates Patent O REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Guy F. Smith, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 11, 1951, Serial No. 231,017

2. Claims. (Cl. 312--214) My invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and more particularly to butter storage in a refrigerator.

The temperature maintained within the food storage chamber of a refrigerator is generally so low as to render butter stored therein too hard to spread easily. For that reason it has been proposed that a separate compartment be provided in some portion of the refrigerator for the purpose of storing butter at a temperature somewhat above the temperature in the main food storage chamber. It has likewise been proposed that the butter compartment be maintained at this elevated temperature by means of electric heaters. However, such heaters are relatively expensive and require automatic control so that the butter does not become too warm and melt or spoil.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a butter storage compartment which will maintain the butter in a condition in which it may be readily spread when removed from the refrigerator, and furthermore, to accomplish this result without the use of heaters or automatic controls.

A butter compartment of the type described above is shown in Patent No. 2,311,549, issued February 16, 1943, to P. E. I ames and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. ln this patent the butter compartment is disposed in the insulation within the top wall of the cabinet between the inner and outer shells and has an access opening through the breaker strip at the front of the cabinet. While this location is ideal from the standpoint of convenience to the user, some difficulty has been eX- perienced in maintaining the proper temperature within the butter compartment due to its proximity to the refrigerator evaporator. In other words, because the butter compartment is located adjacent the coldest portion of the refrigerator, its temperature may be reduced below that desirable for storing butter when the refrigerating system operates for prolonged periods of time due to a heavy load being placed in the main refrigerated chamber.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a butter compartment having improved temperature maintaining characteristics.

The above objects are attained by eliminating the insulating material between the butter compartment and the outer shell of the refrigerator and otherwise increasing the transfer of heat from the air ambient the outer shell to the interior of the butter compartment. By providing an opening in the top wall of the butter compartment and allowing the air within the compartment to circulate in direct contact with the interior surface of the cabinet outer shell the transfer of heat into the compartment is increased and the compartment is rendered less susceptible to temperature changes of the evaporator within the food storage chamber.

Accordingly, another object of my invention is to provide a butter compartment suitable for mounting in the insulated wall of a refrigerator cabinet and wherein the interior of the compartment is in open communication with the interior surface of the outer shell of the cabinet.

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Another object of my invention is to provide a butter compartment which may be easily inserted in, or removed from, the opening provided therefor in the refrigerator cabinet.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View in elevation of the upper portion of a refrigerator cabinet embodying my invention and from which the door has been removed;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of my improved butter compartment taken along the line II--II of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line IIl--III of Fig. 2.

Referring specifically to the drawing for a detailed description of my invention, numeral 10 designates generally a heat-insulated refrigerator cabinet having a main food storage compartment 11, an access opening 12 in the front thereof, and a heat-insulated door (not shown) for closing the access opening. An evaporator or cooling unit 13 is disposed in the upper part ofthe food storage chamber 11 to cool the contents of the food chamber and to freezeV ice.

The refrigerator cabinet 10 is formed of an outer shell 14 and an inner shell 15 with heat insulation 16 therebetween, thus forming side walls 17, a back wall 18, a top wall 19, and a bottom wall (not shown). A molded breaker strip 20 extends between the shells 14 and 15 peripherally of the access opening 12.

In accordance with my invention, the breaker strip 20 is provided with a recessed portion 21 shown by way of example in that portion of the breaker strip 20 forming part of the top wall 19. The recessed portion 21 of the breaker strip 20 has an opening 22 therein through which an open end casing 23 defining a butter compartment 24 is inserted. The casing 23 has a flange 25 around its open end and is positioned between the shells 14 and 15 by means of screws 26 which secure the flange portion 2S of the casing 23 to the breaker strip 20 within the recessed portion 21 thereof. The open end of the butter compartment 23 is closed by a door 27 which is suitably pivoted as indicated at 28 for swinging movement upward. Packaged butter or butter in a conventional storage dish may be inserted in the compartment 24 through the open end of the casing 23.

To ensure proper transfer of heat to the butter compartment 24 an oval-shaped opening 29 is provided in the top wall of the casing 23. Attached to the top of the casing 23 peripherally of the opening 29 is a self-expanding, dust-proof collar or boot 30 extending between the outer shell 14 and the casing 23. The collar 30 denes an air space 31 communicating with the butter compartment 24. Air in space 31 and compartment 24 is heated by the relatively warm outer shell 14. The self-expanding collar or boot 30 may be formed of odorless rubber or polyvinyl plastic material and serves to prevent loose fibers or dust from the insulation 16 from entering the interior of the butter compartment 24. The collar or boot 30 is provided with peripheral flanges 32 and 33 adjacent its lower end, which flanges engage the margin of the opening 29 for retaining the boot 30 in position. To compensate for manufacturing variations in the distance between the top of the casing 23 and the outer shell 14, the boot 30 is provided with a folded portion 34 which is compressed during assembly and assures a proper seal between the top of the boot 30 and the outer shell 14.

A reduced section 35 of the boot 30 adds flexibility to this portion of the boot and allows the boot to be folded into the interior of the casing 23, as shown by the dotted lines 36 of Fig. 2, prior to inserting vthe casing 23 through the opening 22 in the breaker strip 20. This arrangement provides for ease of assembly and enhances the exterior appearance of the refrigerator in that the opening 22 in the breaker strip 20 need be only slightly larger than the cross-sectional dimensions of the butter compartment itself.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that .l have provided a butter storage compartment for refrigerators which has improved temperature maintaining char acteristics and in which no heaters or complicated controls are used. Furthermore, it will be seen that the construction used is relatively simple and inexpensive and provides a butter containing structure which is easily assembled in the refrigerator cabinet.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet structure, the combination of inner and outer shells, said outer shell being exposed to the air ambient said structure, heat insulation between the shells, a casing defining a butter compartment disposed in said heat insulation, said casing having an opening in one wall thereof adjacent said outer shell, and an elastic boot engaging the casing peripherally of said opening and extending to said outer shell.

2. In a refrigerator cabinet structure, the combination of spaced inner and outer wall members, heat insulation disposed between said Wall members and having a recess formed therein extending from the outer wall member toward the inner wall member but terminating in spaced relation with the inner wall member, a casing structure defining a storage chamber and disposed Within said recess, said casing structure having an openingrprovided in the side thereof facing said outer Wall member, and a flexible collar secured to the casing structure peripherally of said opening and extending to said outer Wall member, said collar and a portion of the outer wall member dening an air space which communicates with the storage chamber.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,763,574 Williams lune 10, 1930 2,068,550 Knight Ian. 19, 1937 2,311,549 James Feb. 16, 1943 2,322,769 Norbergy June 29, 1943 2,408,704 Taylor Oct. l, 1946 2,525,446 Carbary Oct. 10,y 1950 

